After allegedly harassing a Dalit officer in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister RS Rajakannappan has lost his heavyweight portfolio. According to Raj Bhavan’s press release on March 29, Minister Rajakannappan’s Transport portfolio has been allocated to Minister SS Sivasankar and Sivasankar’s portfolios including Backward Classes Welfare have been allocated to Rajakannappan.
The cabinet has been reshuffled for the first time since the formation of the DMK government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin in May 2021.
Political critics say that the controversies and allegations against Rajakannappan have been the biggest reason for the change of portfolio. “The reason for the reshuffle was the complaint against Minister Rajakannappan for harassing Block Development Officer Rajendran, while the alleged incident took place on March 27. The minister harassed a Dalit officer, using casteist slurs. So, CM Stalin, to teach him a lesson, allocated him the portfolio that looks after backward communities and their welfare,” sources said.
In the meantime, this is not just the first controversy of Rajakannappan. He had faced many corruption allegations and over the years, he had changed several parties. He is a former minister of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s first Cabinet from 1991 to 1996 and he was accused in a disproportionate assets case. Rajakannappan was a member of the AIADMK founded by MGR in 1972. He quit AIADMK to float his own party Makkal Tamil Desam in 1996 but merged it with DMK in 2000. In 2006, he dissolved his party and joined the DMK. In 2009, he quit DMK again to join AIADMK. After over a decade, Kannappan again joined DMK in February 2020.
Here are the corruption allegations against Rajakannappan
Diwali Sweet Box Scam
Allegations of malpractice have surfaced in the tender for the purchase of 100 tonnes of sweets and condiments for transport officials and employees for the Diwali festival in 2021. In particular, the change in the terms of the tender to a company with a turnover of over Rs 100 crore, in defiance of the order to buy all sweets for government employees at Aavin, sparked controversy and condemnation. It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Stalin directly intervened in this matter and ordered that the sweet box should be purchased only from Aavin Company.
Controversy over son and accompanying officers
Allegations were there that his son Naveen and a few of his associates were involved in various departmental activities, including tenders.
Controversy over attacking his aides
An allegation arose that Rajakannappan had beaten up his aide, a civil servant, and a police officer on security duty, at the end of last year. However, the matter was brought to the attention of the Chief Minister and condemned.
Anti-Corruption Police raids Transport Commissioner’s office
Minister Rajakannappan was accused of allowing rampant bribery in regional transport offices in the transport sector and in the transport commissioner’s office. Following this, on February 14, the Anti-Corruption Police raided the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Transport, Natarajan in Chennai and seized an unaccounted amount of Rs 35 lakh. Apparently, Natarajan was transferred to Tirunelveli following allegations that the minister had acted in a way to save Natarajan.
Casteist Slur
It is in this context that Rajendran (57), the Commissioner of the Mudukulathur Panchayat Union in Ramanathapuram district, had recently publicly accused Rajakannappan of repeatedly insulting him by calling him with ‘caste name’. According to his statement, the moment he entered the minister’s residence following the summon, Rajakannappan called him an ‘SC (Scheduled Caste) BDO’ repeatedly at least 5-6 times. “The incident put me to extreme mental trauma,” the officer said. Even before the matter was taken up, the portfolio of Minister Rajakannappan was changed.
Subsequently, many politicians in Tamil Nadu have condemned the action of changing the portfolio of the minister instead of severe action. Especially, the AMMK chief TTV Dhinakaran said, “Does the Chief Minister think that Minister Rajakannappan, who has been subjected to a series of allegations, will become a saint if the portfolio is changed? Is this what he said when he came to power that he will take appropriate action if any minister makes a mistake? Is it the Dravidian Model that MK Stalin invented to make someone who has been accused of behaving in a casteist manner – a minister for the welfare of the backward classes who are supposed to uphold social justice?” he tweeted. Meanwhile, the AIADMK asked: Is Minister Rajakannappan portfolio change, a gift or punishment?
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